Afterword
by Cloud802
Summary: A series of vignettes after the tragedy of the endless June. Second; Shion seeks solace in Keiichi's forgiveness.
1. Chapter 1

It brought back old memories, memories of a bee bee gun.

**Toy Guns and Pointed Hatchets**

The school room was quiet, save for the lone student snoozing in his chair. He was lightly snoring; clearly he had fallen asleep out of boredom, and not to mention the fact that he had missed most of his sleep last night. It was only natural to fall asleep, especially since Rena had told him to wait in that very spot for her return and the girl had been gone for more than an hour. He had grown tired of waiting for her; even if she seemed unnaturally excited about whatever it was she was going to retrieve. Her hatchet rested in his back pack comfortably.

A few days prior she had handed it to him, sternly saying, "Keiichi-kun, you must not lose this hatchet. I'm trusting you to hold onto this for me."

His initial reaction had been confusion, and then shock, wait, even at school? She had spoken the affirmative to his question, and after arguing vehemently back and forth it seemed she gained the upper hand in the matter. Why she was attached to such a gruesome tool was beyond his knowledge, yet she had insisted beyond a shadow of a doubt that only he could be trusted with it. She had spoken some nonsense about not having access to it for a week or two, yet still having it close by for reassurance.

It confused Keiichi to no end, yet he had complied. He wasn't stupid about it; he kept it in his bag, and the only people who knew it was there were he and Rena.

A sudden and sharp pain caused his eyes to fly open. Startled, he looked around the class frantically, searching for the culprit who had interrupted his peaceful dream. His sight was met with Rena standing in front of him, his favorite million watt smile plastered on her face, "Was Keiichi-kun dreaming?"

Even if he had been dreaming he couldn't remember it now, especially after that rude wake up call. "What did you hit me with?" he asked.

Rena did a double take, acting surprised, "Hit you? Keiichi-kun, why ever would I do that?"

Flashes of Rena punching him and Mion into the ground for their perverted comments jumped to his mind, "Right," he said sarcastically, "This coming from Hinamizawa's number one boxing champion? Fess up Rena, I know you too well to fall for one of your lies."

It might have been a trick of the twilight shining through the window, but it appeared she had blushed and looked away, "I suppose we have known each other for a long time… long time."

"Hey, don't dodge the question! What was it?"

Rena smiled wide again, "I found a toy gun," she said happily.

In her hand, Keiichi noticed a small toy gun of the same model as Mion's except the drastic fact that this one was pink. "Let me guess," he said with a laugh, "You thought it was cute."

"Right!" she shouted, "I wanted to take it home right away! But it was sooooooo expensive, I had to save up a month's allowance and do extra chores for my dad! It shoots little bee bees!"

Keiichi chuckled, "Only you would buy a pink gun because you thought it was cute."

She pouted, "I didn't expect to be using it so soon, I can't believe you fell asleep Keiichi-kun!"

He laughed, "You were taking forever! I sort of just dozed off."

There was a small moment of silence between the two, and for some reason Keiichi grew uncomfortable with this. He decided to pose a question that had been bothering him for the last few days, "Hey Rena-chan, do you mind if I ask you something?"

"Anything!"

That was a quick answer. "Well," he continued, "I was wondering why you gave me your hatchet. I always see you carrying that thing around. You have it all the time when you go hunting at the dump, and even when you explore in the forest."

She frowned deeply and sat down in the chair next to Keiichi. She looked as if she were mulling over whether or not to tell him what she was thinking, "The truth is…"

Keiichi put a hand on her shoulder for reassurance, and she swallowed deep before continuing. "Ever since I found it in the shed, it's made me feel safe. I grew up around some mean people in the school. I was so stressed out, and when mom told me she was remarrying and that she was pregnant… it all just sort of came to a head."

"The Hinamizawa syndrome."

She nodded softly, "I smashed up a lot of stuff, broke all the windows, beat up a couple of kids. It wasn't me at all; it was like I was…"

"Possessed?"

"Yes…"

Rena took a deep breath before continuing, "Well, lately… it hasn't felt right carrying that hatchet around. I feel like I might do something bad with it, so I gave it to you."

Keiichi scoffed, "You? Do something bad?"

_Everyone is aware of their past sins._

"No… I have done something bad with that hatchet, more than once."

Keiichi's eyes widened, "But, you always go treasure hunting with it, and if you didn't have it when we were confronting Takano you'd have probably gotten hurt."

"I know," she said softly, "But I have these strange dreams, horrible, they're so real though. I kill people. In one of them I almost kill you."

Keiichi smiled and grasped her hand in his, "Almost, but didn't. Rena, even if you went a little weird, I would trust you with my life. I have a feeling that if I didn't trust my friends something bad would come of that too. Can I share something with you?"

She blushed and her grip tightened slightly, "Yes."

"That gun brought back memories. I had my own bee bee gun. I wasn't exactly a nice kid before I moved here. I was angry all the time and shot people with it. I even got a little girl in the eye once. She didn't hold a grudge, but there was a huge scandal in the school, and that's why I moved to Hinamizawa." He chuckled to himself and reached down to his bag, unzipping it and pulling the hatchet from it. He let go of her hand and set the strange tool in her hands. "This hatchet is unique," he said softly, "It isn't like the others, it has a pointed tip after a straight end, with an oak handle. The girl that owns it is unique too."

If Keiichi didn't know any better she had gotten even redder than before. "Keiichi-kun…"

The first thing he felt was the warmth on his lips, and then the free hand wrapping the back of his neck, gently caressing. Then it was gone, "I… I'm sorry!!" she shouted, "I didn't mean to…"

Keiichi only smiled, causing the girl sitting next to him to look away in embarrassment.

Oddly enough he couldn't picture Rena without the hatchet.

His Hatchet Girl.


	2. Chapter 2

**Recurring Nightmares**

Fifteen nails.

Shion had counted them every time, and she was sure of it now. Fifteen nails for each hand. She brought her arms closer and hugged herself tightly, trying not to shiver. She could still feel the impact of the blows, still hear the crunching sound. Keiichi's screaming, the nurses getting there twoo late. Her own insane laughter echoing as she finally gave into death. Even worse, she remembered the impact of the knife with flesh, Satoko's crying, how satisfying it felt in the nightmare. Her stomach churned and she leaned over the trashcan by her bed, heaving over and over again.

She had long ago emptied her stomach.

Now they were just empty gags and chokes.

She had told Mion and Kasai she would be staying home from school the next day. It just wasn't worth it to go in, see Satoko's smiling face.

She couldn't even bring herself to visit Satoshi she was so disgusted with herself.

She sighed and gazed at her clock.

Midnight on the dot.

A sudden urge overcame her and she reached for her phone. She picked it up and dialed a familiar number.

The line rang a few times before someone picked up, "Moshi moshi, Maebara residence, this is Ryuguu Rena speaking."

For a moment Shion forgot about all of her woes, "Rena-chan, what are you doing at Keichi-kun's house at midnight?"

"Midnight?!"

She sounded shocked.

"Is it really that late… that late? I have to get going, sorry Keiichi-kun, here's the phone!"

A shuffle sounded as Keiichi took the phone, "Who's this?"

Shion sighed, leave it to Keiichi to answer the phone so impolitely with his friends, "Keiichi-kun, it's me, Shion Sonozaki."

"Oh hey!" he shouted with a laugh, "How have you been? We haven't spoken in forever. Sorry about Rena, my parents are out of town again and we sort of lost track of time talking."

Shion laughed lightly, "Keiichi, I was just calling to apologize."

"For what?"

"It's kind of hard to explain," she said softly, hugging her legs to her chest, "I've been having these weird dreams lately where I do horrible things. I've been trying not to let them bother me but…" she choked and tried to stop herself from crying, "I'm being stupid."

There was a long and uncomfortable moment of silence. "Don't worry," he said softly, "I forgive you… for everything."

Keiichi hung up the phone before she could respond.

Shion pulled her legs closer and smiled, letting the tears cascade down her cheeks.

That was exactly what she had needed to hear.


End file.
